


Growing Pains

by redradioflyer



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-23 19:55:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17086706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redradioflyer/pseuds/redradioflyer
Summary: Matthew is finally ready to confess to his southern neighbor, but Alfred is too busy complaining about growing pains to give him the chance. Matthew just might have to kiss the man quiet to get a word in edge-wise.





	Growing Pains

Matthew has been in love with Alfred for several decades now, and he’s pretty sure that Alfred feels the same. Sure, they’ve had their differences here and there- 1812 comes to mind- but for the most part they get on rather well. Sometimes it seems they’re so close to just saying something, but then they don’t. Perhaps it’s the whole taboo of the thing despite the fact that they’ve both had quite a few crushes on men so far in their existence.

Hopefully, this will all change soon.

It’s 1867, and Matthew is feeling pretty good about things. On July 1st, three colonies had joined together to form four provinces of the new dominion, all under the name Canada. He feels powerful and hopeful for the future of his people and his country. There is a confidence boost right before he sees Alfred for his annual Independence Day celebration. Matthew has resolved to confess his feelings during the party.

Alfred is in high spirits most of the day as he celebrates, but they had spent the majority of the party dancing around each other. While Matthew has been aware of his feelings for a while, it would seem that Alfred has finally become aware of his own. It’s almost cute, in a way, how Alfred is suddenly so hyper aware of him in a way he wasn’t before.

From the first moment of their reunion after several months of being too busy to see one another, Matthew can tell that Alfred is embarrassed. He leans in and kisses Alfred’s cheeks, and the blush he gets in response covers the man’s whole face. Every time they’re standing close, Alfred is jittery and on edge. Their hands touch as they both move to pour each other a drink, and Alfred panics and spills a pitcher of tea over the table.

Still, it’s too busy and too crowded at the party to finally confess to him like Matthew had planned originally.

The confession would have to wait until the day after the celebrations.

—

There is one problem with this though- now they’re alone, and Alfred is embarrassed. His discomfiture takes the form of being flustered, self-conscious, and incessantly talkative. Not the productive talkative either- he spends most of the morning trying to talk around having any sort of serious discussion. Right now, he’s strayed into rather loud, irritating complaining.

“I am way too old to feel like this,” Alfred belly-aches from his couch. “It hurts Mattie- all my joints and muscles hurt.”

Matthew rolls his eyes and puts a few snack cakes on a tray to bring over to him.  Alfred is always more vocal about complaining and fussing and just being in general rather childish when it’s just the two of them. Really, he does want the attention, and Matthew thinks he’s ready to talk about things. Alfred is simply embarrassed, and if they’re going to have any sort of resolution- and time around each other without Alfred being red faced and overwhelmed- Matthew is going to have to start the conversation.

First he has to address all this complaining though.

“It’s just growing pains, you big baby,” Matthew says as he brings over the snack tray, complete with juice for them both. “You really should’ve thought of this before you bought all that land from Russia earlier this year.”

Alfred sits up and rubs his knees and shoulders. After he gives Matthew a petulant little glare, he moves to take his drink and guzzle half of it down in one go. His cheeks turn pink.

“Okay I annexed Texas and I just got some glasses out of the whole thing. You know things don’t work so straight forward as gain some land- grow a few inches. It’s kinda unpredictable. I mean, okay Russia is huge but Ivan isn’t even…” He pauses– Under that coat and those scarves, neither of them are sure what Ivan’s real body shape is. “Well, let’s just say if Ivan’s body size represented his land area he’d either be much taller or much much fatter.”

Alfred laughs at the idea of Ivan as round as a balloon, and Matthew pushes him a little as he sits down next to him. The laughter ends a bit abruptly as Alfred shifts in his seat, and his ears turn pink. As cute as it is, Matthew can’t help but be a little irritated that he’s still trying to avoid what they both clearly need to talk about.

“You know things are a bit different for us. We’re still young and still growing. You should really be used to growth spurts by now. Besides, I thought you’d be happy that you might finally be as tall as me.”

“I’m plenty tall enough!” Alfred protests, but he’s always been just enough shorter than Matthew for it to be noticeable. Honestly Alfred probably had already thought about that, but to have it pointed out embarrasses him.

Alfred does what he always does though, when the path of the conversation doesn’t suit him anymore- he changes the subject.

“It really hurts though Matthew!” He finishes his drink and flops over against the arm of the couch. “My knees ache, and my back hurts, and I’m putting on weight, god I wake up feeling like someone’s been trying to jerk my arms and legs off while I sleep.”

“Mhmm, gaining weight happens before you get taller,” Matthew replies in a bored tone. He’s not going to encourage Alfred’s pity party. Growing pains aren’t nearly that bad, and Alfred is always over dramatic about minor discomfort and pain.

Even that short of a reply seems like encouragement to Alfred though who continues to rail on about how bad he feels. Matthew’s thoughts are more favorably inclined. He’s thinking about how lovely Alfred had looked the night before, excited and having fun with his guests and citizens. In his mind, he can see how red Alfred turned when Matthew stepped close to tell him that he was going to bed. Just now, he’s admiring Alfred’s face and mouth as he talks and rambles on about how bad Matthew should feel for him and his sore spots.

Finally Matthew puts his hand on Alfred’s shoulder, pushing him against the back of the couch. Alfred is startled enough to pause in his talking- though there’s a look in his eyes that says he’s about to tear into Matthew because ‘ow my shoulder is so sore don’t push!!!’

“Hush Alfred,” Matthew says softly. “We have nicer things we need to talk about.”

Alfred opens his mouth to speak again, but Matthew shakes his head.

“I said hush.”

Then Matthew leans in and kisses him. Alfred isn’t that surprised, but it does take the other a second to respond to the kiss. It’s slow and sweet and rather chaste. When they pull away though, Alfred puts up the obligatory fuss.

“Mattie!!” he cries softly, pushing him back a little. “H-hey! What’re you thinkin’, huh??? Don’t be weird!!!”

“Alfred come on,” Matthew replies. “You both know that we have  _things_ we need to discuss. We’ve been tiptoeing around our feelings for years. I know that you’re on the same page.”

Though Alfred is red to the tips of his ears, he doesn’t try to deny it. “Well, still, it’s the middle of the afternoon! It’s hardly time for that sort of thing! You’ve spent too much time with that pervy Frenchman.”

Matthew smiles at him and arches a brow at this accusation. “What  _exactly_ are you expecting me to do??”

The scandalized expression on Alfred’s face says plenty enough about what he thinks Matthew is planning. For some reason, Matthew finds this incredibly hilarious.

“Really Alfred?? That’s where your mind went?? Jumping straight to sex when I haven’t even told you how I feel??” Matthew is laughing, but later he’ll realize some things- chiefly that Alfred’s mind going straight to more carnal pleasures with him likely means the other had thought about having sex with him before.

For now, though, Matthew is focused on his confession.

“I wanted to tell you,” he says, face feeling hot. He’s confident though, and he takes Alfred’s face into his hands. “That I love you. Not like a friend, not like a brother. Like…”

Alfred is red now and unable to meet his eyes. He interrupts in a nervous voice, “Like a lover, yeah yeah I know. You don’t have to say embarrassing stuff for me to know that.” He nibbles his bottom lip- a nervous habit that Matthew has always found strangely attractive. Alfred takes hold of Matthew’s wrists gently, and his voice drops low. “Of course, I love you too. S’just not the kind of thing two men should say to each other in the middle of the afternoon. S’weird.”

“You’ve spent too much time with that prudish Brit,” Matthew says, mirroring Alfred’s earlier retort. “I would’ve confessed to you last night at your party like I planned if I could’ve gotten you alone for even a minute.”

Alfred looks uncertain, but he finally smiles just a little. “Yeah that would’ve been more dangerous, with so many people around.”

“I’ve always been the smarter one of the two of us.” Matthew tilts his head and looks into Alfred’s eyes. “So let’s start over alright? Confess properly.”

“So confession before the kiss this time. That’s how you’re  _supposed_ to do things.”

“Right, right,” Matthew says back. “Of course.” He urges Alfred to turn towards him, and he releases his face in favor of holding his hands. “Alfred, I love you, and if you’ll consent to be my sweetheart, I’d be really happy.”

Alfred has to bite his lip at being called sweetheart- it sounds so childish and girlish to him that it’s almost funny- but then he looks up to meet Matthew’s eyes. “It just so happens that I love you too. So I accept. We can be sweethearts.” Then he squeezes Matthew’s hands gently.

“Now, is it proper to kiss?”

“Yes but only a little one. It’s still rather improper to kiss in the middle of the day.”

Even though he says this, Alfred responds with passion when Matthew leans in to kiss him. Alfred even drags him closer as he starts to lie back onto the couch. For all his huffy modesty, he’s eager and ready to take advantage of their alone time now that they’ve got the most embarrassing part out of the way.

They kiss and touch and laugh against each other’s lips as they coo sweet nothings at each other- words they both believe but sound so very corny spoken out loud. For a moment Matthew thinks that they might actually end up doing something decidedly unchaste in the middle of the afternoon, but as Matthew presses his shoulders down against the couch  and nudges his thighs apart to settle between his legs, Alfred breaks from his lips.

“Ow ow ow,” he says between laughter, pushing Matthew up and off of him. “I wasn’t lying when I said I’ve been sore the past few days! My legs and shoulders and joints feel awful!”

Matthew sits up again at the urging and looks into his face. Despite how serious he’s being, he can’t help but laugh. The other isn’t lying just to end off their intimacy, and he’s sure that if Alfred hadn’t been sore their afternoon would’ve been much different. Still, when they are intimate, they should both enjoy it and not be in any pain. Matthew pulls him up into a sitting position.

“Let’s make a deal then,” Matthew says as he steals sweet kisses from his lips. “If you stop complaining about how much it hurts, I’ll give you a massage and make you dinner.”

Alfred grins at the thought, and he arches his brow. “You’re my sweetheart now. You should be doing those things anyways.”

“Perhaps you’re right…” Matthew trails off and thinks it over. “How about this then- every time you start to complain I’ll kiss you quiet- even if it’s in front of people!”

The words make Alfred turn red. “You wouldn’t!!”

“ I would!”

“Nuh-uh, it’d out you too!”

They begin to wrestle and play on the couch, Matthew taunting and Alfred trying to punish him for it. It’s about the same as it has always been between them…

Except now their little play fights end with kisses, and they couldn’t be happier. 


End file.
